3 Basic Lighting Types For Your Home

Learning what function lighting plays in a room and how to accomplish it is invaluable – it can change the mood and feel of your entire home. From general ambient lighting to creating finishing touches with accent lighting; get ready to add some drama to your rooms by creating visual interest with lighting.

Ambient Lighting For Your Home

• Ambient lighting is fundamental. It is the general lighting of your room and it creates an overall amount of light throughout your space.
• In most home settings, when a person steps into a room and flips on a switch, ambient lighting is what illuminates the room.
• To accomplish ambient lighting: try fun chandeliers, ceiling fixtures, wall-mounted fixtures, recessed lighting or track lighting.

Task Lighting For Your Home 

• Task lighting helps with specific tasks like grooming, applying makeup, reading and cooking.  These are all tasks that may require a little bit more targeted light.
• It is important that task lighting is bright enough so you don’t get a glare or shadow.
• Task lighting is accomplished with recessed and track lighting, pendant lighting or under-cabinet lighting.

Accents For Your Home

• Accent lighting can also be called “highlighting”. Accent lighting is all about drawing attention. You may want to draw attention to display items on a shelf or perhaps even your favorite shoes in a walk-in closet.
• Accent lighting is also commonly seen outside your home to highlight show off your favorite features like a waterfall, a special tree or some beautiful plants.
• Effective accent lighting requires at least three times as much light on the focal point as the general lighting surrounding it. This can be accomplished with recessed and track lighting and often with wall-mounted picture lights.

What room are you going to start with?